


The Make Or Break Of It All

by kosherrainbow



Series: The Make or Break of it All [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec uses a wheelchair, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Clary and Alec are raised as siblings, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Parabatai works a little different, valentine is really dead
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-05-22 16:24:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6086569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kosherrainbow/pseuds/kosherrainbow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Circle ends when Valentine dies, his plans thwarted, but a few rogue members are still on the run from the Clave and blame Jocelyn for all this misfortune. She and Luke decide to take her children and leave the Shadowworld behind, but they’re not the only one who want to hide this world from a child. The Lightwoods suggest a trade of favors.<br/>Basically an AU in which Alec and Clary are raised by Jocelyn and Luke as siblings and though the Moral Cup is safe they still get a rough introduction Shadowworld together when Jocelyn is abducted vengeful Cirlcle members who spent eighteen years harboring a grudge.<br/>Heavy focus will eventually be on Malec  various sibling relationships, as well as Alec and Clarly finding their places in this world that is very new to them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Inevitable Calm Before The Inevitable Storm

**Author's Note:**

> I am admittedly very new to the entire fandom universe, having only the TV show and what I read on the internet to guide me. So, this is mostly going to be set up on the skeletons of knowledge, but I have taken some liberties as all fanfictions do to help the universe and this idea that popped in my head work cohesively. Also I will admit Alec, as do most of the characters will be a bit OOC but that is in response to variations on their backstories. 
> 
> I do not own anything which is owned by another in a manner including but not limited physically, monetarily, or legally. I simply like to play with characters and words for entertainment and receive no monetary gain or an gain out side of any stroking of ego that comes in the forms of subscriptions, kudos, or comments accessible via this website.
> 
> Without further ado, please enjoy.

Clary Garroway walked into the coffee shop scanning only briefly until she found her best friend in their regular spot.

“Where’s my brother?” She asked, collapsing into an armchair after putting her art portfolio on the coffee table between them.

“Well, he was supposed to be ordering the coffee, but I think he’s now flirting with the biscotti guy.” Simon explained looking to see he was right in that assessment. “Your brother has skills, I think the poor boy thinks he actually has a chance.” With one last sigh he turned  back to face the red-head, “So, how did it go?”

She pouted with a sigh, putting on her best disappointed ‘woe is me’ look. And as expected Simon fell for it, “I will show them …that’s unacceptable…you’re the most talented artist I've....”

“You got in, didn’t you?!” Her brother’s voice interrupted, as he carefully rolled his wheelchair into a place to move the tray of coffees on to the table.

“That’s not the face of someone who is…” He drifted off as he realized her pout had been replaced with a wide smile as she reached for the biscotti next to her mug. “You did?! Nice fake out. How do you two do that?” To Simon the Garroway siblings had fascinated hims since he was six year old. They seemed to be fairly synced with each other despite the eighteen month age difference and the fact that if it wasn't for their last name no one would look at them and think they were brother and sister. This was only the latest in sixteen years worth of their mental magic tricks he had managed.

The older boy smirked, “You may be our best friend, Simon Lewis, but she’s my sister….I know her better that anyone else.”

“Birthmark power.”  Clary added with a laugh pulling down the neck of her shirt just enough to reveal a faded mark on her skin.

“Birthmark power.” Her brother repeated showing off his own identical mark just as the boy he’d been flirting came by to deliver a plate full of extra biscotti and his phone number.

“Alec Garroway, you are magic.” Simon teased as the man disappeared with a wink intended for the eldest.

“Hey, it did work on you after all.”

Red poured across the younger boy’s face, “It was one kiss, and I was being a supportive friend…."

It was true during his coming out process Simon had offered a then nervous and more self-conscious Alec a safe expectation-less first kiss because to two best friends it had seemed like a good idea at the time. Nowadays, Alec was ware, along with everyone else beside his sister and maybe Maureen that Simon's feelings were very Clary-centric. "Clary? You okay?”

Both boys looked to the artist who  had apparently stopped listening to look around confused.

“Yeah, I swear I had a biscotti just here…did you steal it?”

Alec looked at his sister confused, “Uh, no…you probably ate it, then forgot…because you’re old now.”

Clary laughed, distracted by the comment, “Says the guy who is a year and half older than me.”

She  reached for another biscotti, the missing one forgotten. “So, are you just stringing this boy out on hope or did you tell him you going on date tonight.”

He shrugged, “Who knows how tonight is going to go?”

The eyeglass wearing Simon shook his head, “You’re such a jerk.”

The comment was said with a laugh because Alec knew it came from a place of love,  the accounting student had grown to be like a brother, and had been only one of many supportive voices when he had decided to come out at thirteen years old. He chalked it up to that support from his friends and family  and the years of openly practicing that made him so confident in his flirting, despite how often that self-assuredness didn’t always feel like it fit, like it came from a part of him he couldn’t exactly control. But thinking that made him feel as crazy as his sister and her missing coffee side dish. “Speaking of my date tonight, we should get going if I’m  going to be able to make the gig tonight…then we’re hanging out right?”  
  
“Right,” Simon confirmed, “Clary only turns eighteen once.”

A few blocks away from the coffee shop they parted ways with Simon and the Garroway siblings raced toward home. Turning into the tunneled break between buildings  that lead to the courtyard of the refurbished warehouse that was now home their playful bantering  was cut off by the sound of arguing floating through the screen door of the shop their mother and her best friend, Dot, operated out of the first floor. A young man was standing to the side of the ramp that led to the door. There was something that felt off about him to Clary, but she had no time to find as the stranger made and broke eye contact by disappearing inside.  Whatever argument ceased and two people emerged from the shop.

It was the newest stranger that caught Alec’s attention, the slender muscled body, the tan skin…and the man’s eyes.  His staring must have been sensed as the other man seemed to notice Alec as they passed each other. There was something old and sad about the  uniquely colored eyes that seemed to contradict what Alec recognized as a flirting smirk.  But the moment passed and the two strange visitors seemed to disappear as soon  as they had passed the siblings.

Inside the shop Dot seemed rather unfocused from the counter top she seemed to be staring at until she heard the door again. Instantly her face changed into a smile.

“My two favorite people…Happy Birthday, Clary. I also sense there may be some congratulations headed your way.”

“And by ‘sense’ you mean…”

“Simon’s twitter.” The three of them finished together with a laugh before the shop owner reached behind the counter to hand the birthday girl a shiny gold gift bag, “Your mother is upstairs already, don’t open this in front of her. I’ve got close up and take care…of some last minute things.” Her eyes seem to flit towards the door behind them as if she expected those strangers to return. “But I’ll see you at brunch tomorrow.”

The headed to the back where the freight elevator was located, they could have gotten to it by the exterior door as well, but they had always found it more fun to go through the store especially when they were younger and the elevator was extremely creepy, but as Alec got older and needed to be able to operate it on his own it had been updated to match the rest of the building as well as for accessibility. Alec paid attention to getting the doors closed while Clary dug in the bag to pull out Dot’s gift. He turned to the button panel to take them up to the second floor but something caught his eye. Through the linked metal a pieces of the building showed through gaps, and Alec could see what looked to be a graffiti tag. Nearly ready to call out his sister he noticed how faded it look. He shook his head, maybe it had always been there and he just noticed it. These things happened all the time to everyone so, instead he just hit the ‘2’ button and then back to see what his sister had gotten for her birthday.

“Mom’s going to freak when if she sees that.”  
  
“Well, she’s not going to know.” Clary stuffed the practically see-through shirt back into the bag. “She’s just jealous Dot has better taste.”  
  
“I think Dot does it because she knows once Mom does find it she’s going to get it right back so she’s can wear it.”  
  
“Joke’s on her though.” The voice of Jocelyn Fray-Galloway came through the door as the elevator arrived to its destination. “Clary is eighteen now she can wear what she wants…even” She paused as the door fully opened, “if I don’t like it.” She took the miniature version of herself into her arms as Alec just rolled past. “It was just like when I found out what you were really using that cup holder on your chair for.”

He stopped and pivoted, that self assurance he was never sure of exactly where it came from hid the embarrassment of his mom’s knowledge. “Hey, sometimes safe-equal-opportunity-ADA-level sex requires condoms and lube to be in a more accessible location.”  
  
He turned quickly to go down the hall to change leaving his sister to explain.

“He has a date tonight. He always gets a little more arrogant when he has a date.” This was true, Jocelyn had noticed the same personality shift as her daughter had. His confidence was normally the more quiet type and she suspected she knew what the cause of the irregularities was. She loved him, both of her the children she had raised so much, but now that were both eighteen she was facing a hard conversation. It was easy to not worry about when it had been years away and now it was only minutes away the panic was teasing her stomach and rising in her throat.  To help her focus she gave Clary her gift while she waited for Alec to reappear.

When he did he bee-lined right back towards the elevator to head out, “Alec, can you come here for a moment, I really need to talk to both of you about something.”

“Can it wait, mom? I need to get going if I’m going this date over with and to the gig on time.”

“Fine, but brunch tomorrow please. Dot and I are closing the shop and Dad is off from work, we  need to have a serious discussion.”

“Tomorrow. Brunch. Promise.”

Simon emerged from the stairs on the other side of the room as Alec got into still opened elevator, calling out, “Have fun, but Alec the band needs you too. You better show up on time.”

Alec  nodded, pumping a fist in the air, “Champagne Enema!”

Simon began to repeat until he saw Jocelyn’s raised eyebrow.  “The band’s new name…Maureen’s choice.”

She didn’t know if it was true or not, surprising or not but she let passed as the sound of Luke’s deep voice drifted up, it was murmured, but with Alec's voice in reply she could guess he was checking to make sure Alec’s cup hold was well supplied, for safety she knew he would reassure her with if she ever asked him about it.

“Dad!” Clary greeted Luke as he appeared upstairs handing off he spray paint set for birthday gift and warning about responsible usage. There was a moment Luke looked to Jocelyn but she shook her head , knowing he was asking about the talk that should have happened. He’s been the only father the kids had known and he’d been as nervous about the conversation as she was.

Simon and Clary began to take off and Jocelyn caughts them for a second. “If you’re not coming back here to celebrate can I just ask that you and your brother are home by midnight, please. I just want you both awake for brunch tomorrow.”  
  
“Mom, could you get any more ominous? But I promise…I will try.”

Luke waited until they’re gone before he looked to his wife.

She shook her head before she spoke, “I don’t know which of them I’m more scared of telling the truth to.”

“I think I more afraid that Alec will want to find them, or feel that he’s losing us.” Luke quietly admitted. They had had this talk before that no matter what the truth was Jocelyn and Clary were connected by blood, Luke and Jocelyn by marriage, but what connected Alec to them was such a thin label. The years had made her believe that their years of family could handle the truth but now  she felt a little unsure.

 

_Jocelyn took the crying dark haired nearly two year old boy from the warlock the moment Maryse had finished blocking rune just under his left shoulder. The Lightwood Shadowhunter seemed unfazed by her own son’s tears as she simply took the red-headed infant from Luke. So, Jocelyn tried to calm him as she checked to see if the mark was taking. Normally the only mark infant Shadowhunter skin could handle was the parabatai mark that appeared when both children were born and sealed when the pair met as long as it was before they were both eighteen otherwise it faded. But the High Warlock’s magic allowed the rune to stay, and once the rune was on their skin it would prevent the three children to see the Shadowworld until the midnight of the youngest’s, the baby Maryse was focused on, eighteenth birthday._

_“Quiet him, so I can focus.” Magnus commanded._

_Jocelyn began to whisper in little Alec’s ear. “It’s alright I’ve got you.” Instantly her voice began to calm him and he settled enough for her to see the rune was taking and to look over him, such a cute little one. Dark hair, blue eyes, and the palest of tan skin, the only thing that set Alec apart from the other two children is that his legs hung limply from below him, he’d never be able to use them to walk or run or hunt. She knew this is why he why was now in her arms, why he was leaving the Shadowworld with her family, no warlock or rune would have changed what had been inherited through the human half. What she didn’t know if the Lightwoods were doing this for Alec or because of Alec’s difference, but as much as their history spoke against them, the  Lightwoods were also helping her, so she took the parental high road and called it parental prerogative._

_Soon two of the children were sporting runes and it was nearly time for them to depart, her eldest just needed his turn. But the room grew eerily quiet, before sound of shattered glass rang out._

It was same  sound that also pulled Jocelyn out of her memory.

 


	2. Tropical Storm Shadowhunter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter the shadowhunters, and the catalyst

"I have a sister, Clary…" Alec paused, but the man was fairly invested in the plate of fries, so he continued…"she's, uh, she's a little younger. She's an artist...she's really really talented. It's  actually her birthday today…." He paused again but his date now seemed to be studying the food. "We're really close, she's one of my best friends...She was the first person I came out to..How about you ?"

 "Huh?" the other man didn't even look up.  _Really?_

 "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

 "Oh, yeah. I do."

 Alec waited expectantly, even put down the tofu strip he had been working on, but nothing came. He was done. He felt completely done with this guy. In complete contrast to the verbal flirt- sparing when they had met this evening had been a cycle of Alec talking to monosyllabic answers. He looked out the window they were seated next to, starting to plan his escape. Well, at least he could tell his sister  he hadn't been leading on Biscotti Boy after all, though if he were being entirely honest, he suspected that would go very much like this date. He was about to try to catch the waiter when he saw two guys on the other side of the street come from...well, he wasn't completely sure where they had appeared from, around the corner he supposed, but he recognized them instantly from earlier that day. They stopped at a door wedged between two shops, and  the wider built man stood at the bottom while the other disappeared behind the door. 

He wasn't sure what exactly sparked his interest, thought he must have believed anything had to better than staying on the date.  It took a matter of seconds to grab a large enough bill to cover the food, fought for a quick second to get the person behind him to  realized they ha pulled their chair too far out. By the time he made it out of the diner,  the blond was beginning to walk away the other man who had apparently come back down seemed to be waiting. Alec's breath caught as for a second the man looked over at him and smiled. No, that wasn't possible, Alec turned down the street leaving those mysterious eyes behind. The blond got caught at a stoplight which allowed for his wheeled follower to catch up. He spent three blocks trying to explain why he was doing this:  _Dot's raised voice...if she felt threatened, the look on Clary's face...was this someone who scared her?_ The blond wasn't that tall, maybe three/four inches taller than Clary, but no  where near Alec if he was able to stand to full height.

 As they approached block number four, the guy rolled up his sleeve, and pulled something out of his all black outfit, he turned making a point to look at Alec. Instant eye contact from strangers wasn't a sensation Alec had enough experiences to feel used to it. Most people just keep looking straight ahead before adjusting, even if they had been looking for him. What threw him off further was this man not only looked at him, but looked confused as if he had found something he hadn't expected. Suddenly the man actually began to approach him, instinctively Alec pivoted around propelling himself down the sidewalk as fast as he could. Nearly back to the diner and the awful date, he finally looked behind him, but saw nothing. He took a moment to catch his breath.

His phone began to ring, Clary to the rescue, he thought hearing her voice in his head  _birthmark power._

"Hey, Clary, I was just about to call...I bailed, he was so boring...where are you guys?...Yeah, I'm on my way."

 

 

From the shadow of his hiding spot above he watched the boy push himself to a bus stop before disappearing on public transit. The boy who had seen him. Yes, when he had been the look out at Dot's earlier that after noon they had meant to be seen, but the instant he had left Magnus' he had activated the rune on his forearm so he could enjoy a walk back to the Institute invisible to the Mundanes teeming the street. But this boy had seen him, and that through him off, Mundanes with the Sight were rare and usually locked away considered crazy, but the only other option was he was a member of the Shadowworld, but Jonathan Gideon Lightwood had never seen a Downworlder who used a wheelchair.

 He decided to forgo his casual walk home in the hopes that one of his  parents would be back from their trips already and would have some answer. The first person however to greet him as he walked into what appeared to be an abandoned church was his younger brother, Jace.

 "Gid, You took your time getting home. How was the last your last day with Magnus'?"

 When he was ten years old, his parents brought home eight year old Jonathan Herondale after some old Circle members had killed Jace's parents.  It was also around the time Max was born and he started go by his middle name. The pair had hit it off fairly easy, training together with easy, most  outside of the family were surprised that they looked similar, and that they were not parabatai. True they both had a parabatai mark, but Gideon's was solid and sealed. Not that he knew who it was; no one he met had a matching mark. Jace's was fading and only had a few more months before it would disappear all together if  his parabatai didn't show up.

 "Gid? Earth to Gideon, are you okay?"

"Yeah, sorry...thinking of something from early."

"Okay, if you're sure...then take a few minutes then there's a shape-shifting demon you, Izzy, and I have to take care of tonight."

He just nodded and made his way back to his room.

 

As Simon packed up his guitar, he looked at Clary and then over to where Alec Galloway was talking a couple of people who had been watching the band, "Sometimes I'm afraid he is the only reason people come to our gigs."

  
"Not the only reason, you guys sounded great."

"Until Alec goes back to school...his program doesn't let him play in gigs during the semester unless they're authorized, and bands aren't authorized….Its not like you are gonna being around anymore either….you'll be too busy at your fancy art school."  
  
"Simon, that's never going to happen. It’s the three of us for life. All set for the van?" She asked as Maureen joined them with a nod. She hollered across the room, "Alexander Garroway, we only have two and half hours to thoroughly celebrate my birthday, your groupies are going to have to wait."

 All his eye roll and "I'll be there in a minute," got in return was a laugh.

 By the time he had put away his  gear Simon's van had been decorated in his sister's art including the tag he had seen in the elevator today, maybe she had seen it before.  He intended to ask , but she seemed preoccupied with a blonde man. He looked similar to the guy from earlier but it clearly wasn't…

 "Clary, is he bothering you?" Alec hollered ignoring the odd look from his band mates.

 Instead of an answer the stranger just looked at him, "You can see me too?"

  _Who was this guy?_   "Uh, yeah...I can see you bothering my sister…"

  
"Alec, its fine...he just needs to watch where he's going."

"Jace!" A voice from near the club distracted the stranger making him run off.

Alec looked over his sister, and what he saw was that maybe she hadn’t been so bothered by the strange blond.  _So that was his sister’s type._ But as the siblings turned back to their friends they were met by a pair of odd looks.

 “Why didn’t you guys say anything?” Alec asked, surprised that Simon hadn’t taken the first opportunity to defend Clary.

 “To who? About what?”  
Clary looked confused, “They guy I was talking to…he ran right into me.”  
  
“Okay…” Simon forced a laugh, “If this is one of your Galloway sibling Jedi tricks you can cut it off.”

This sparked his sister to take off towards the club. The other three followed as well right into the club. Their IDs were a problem but the crowd was so thick he could barely get around, let alone spot his sister. While Simon and Maureen took off towards the bar Alec pushed through the perimeter of the club and caught his sister slipping through a pair of closing curtains.

There was no point arguing though it wasn’t for a lack of trying the curtain guarders weren’t going to let him through. He didn’t have to wait long she shot out of there and right towards him.

“Alec, we gotta go.”

She seemed so panicked, “Okay, Clary its fine…but you gotta push me, we’ll be quicker that way.” She nodded, and did as asked. He was right, her intensity got them out of there quickly and to a taxi, she was uncharacteristically impatient for him to get into. He’d call Simon later expalain. His sister was his priority.

 “Clary, Clary…sis. Breathe, tell me what happened.”

 She shook her head rather fervently, “I don’t think you would believe me.”

“That would never happen. Just tell me, you’re scaring me.”

She nodded, and leaned against him to whisper. "That guy, there was another guy and a girl. And they were about to stab this women with glowing sword...and when they stabbed people they burst, disappearing into thin air."

He wanted to think she was crazy, but there was something that felt like it should believe her. He just let her whisper on trying to calm her the entire route back to the apartment. She seemed have slowly caught her breath as driver helped get his chair out of the trunk and he transferred out of the car. The made it to the tunnel an spotted the door to the shop busted off its hinge.

"Alec...what if they followed us..."

He shook his head, "No they wouldn't have had enough time. Lets go straight to the elevator."

But that proved a bad idea as the elevator also appeared broken.

"We should call the cops..." Clary suggested.

"No...if Mom and Dad need us..."

She nodded and they made it into the show. Lots of the display cases had been knocked over. Shards of glass were scattered across the floor.

“Wait here.” Clary whispered, “I’ll be right back.”  
  
“See if the elevator is opened, send it down.”

She nodded and slowly took a step at a time. He genuinely hated this, he had spent his whole life being independent, being raised to rely on himself. But moments like this he hated. He listened to the sound of footsteps tread across the floor. Suddenly there seemed to be another pair, and he could hear Clary’s voice, “Dad?...Wait, Dot…”

He couldn’t make out the rest the conversation before he heard the scream, “Alec!”

Instinctively, he rushed to the stairs, he had only ever had to do this once or twice before when the elevator had broken and he’d been home alone. He grabbed he bar, pulled himself out of the chair and on to the stairs, silently grateful his dad had dragged him to the gym all the time. He tried to move as fast as he could, pushing himself  with his arms and the bar, but without the help from his legs it was a challenge. His arms were burning as he reached the second floor.

His eyes grew as he saw his dad unconscious on the floor and in the living room, he panicked as he saw Clary on the floor against the beam. There was a creature looming over her, something gray and frankly terrifying. His eyes scanned for anything he could hurl and saw his dad’s gun on the floor.

_Just like archery team, calm your breath._

His shot caused a scream from Clary, but its only actual effect was to make the creature head towards him. He was sure he was a goner when he heard footsteps, someone stood over it and pressed something glowing through the monster’s chest. Alec watched in horrific fascination as the thing screamed and curled on itself before it vanished with what could only be described as a flash of fire.

“My sister, is she okay? Clary?!” Alec shouted. His brain began to process who had come to the rescue. Three bodies, two blond…the one who had been bothering Clary and the one who he had followed. The last was a girl he hadn’t seen before.

“She’s been scratched we have to take her to the Institute.”

The other blonde seemed to disagree. “Jace, come one, she’s a mundane…”

“I don’t think…”

“This  one is a downworlder…werewolf…”

The first one spoke again, “Gid, you saw how she made blade glow…”

Alec was becoming more and more pissed off, with each second he couldn’t take the two of them “If I could walk right now, you two wouldn’t be and my sister would be getting help.”

Jace, the taller blonde by his sister seemed to have been effected by his shouting, but what happened after that became a blur as the world turned black.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the response to the last chapter.  
> This and the next chapter will stick pretty close to the TV show, but then it goes off on its own path.  
> I was a little nervous to add Johnathan Christopher/Sebastian as I only have internet info, but as I outlined he became fairly important. I just changed his middle name for the moment for reason that will e explained.
> 
> Things I can tell  
> Alec and Clary are not parabatai, but their blocking run connects them, and it will become interesting once Parabatais are revealed...in the next chapter.
> 
> My second chapter are consistently clunking but they always lay a lot of ground work.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed, let me know what you think... It's not beta'd yet.  
> And I don't know how often I'll be on updating, but I'm definitely one of those who are motivated by response.


	3. Wake to a New World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec and Clary wake in the institute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! I fear you may have forgotten about this one, I’ve been reading so many great fics. Like I said response is always a huge motivator for me, and it motivated me so much I wrote a 10,000 word chapter!!! If this were a one off—I’d probably be fine with that, but for a story, I try to keep every chapter under 3,000-3.500 worlds longs. I so I did a lot of editing. And got i down to two parts...which means it made a little bit of a liar out of me, because parabatai are discussed more in the second part of the chapter.

 

The moment Magnus Bane had seen the glint off the wheelchair being pushed out of the club by the tiny familiar looking red head; he suspected that his night of partying had come to an end. He finished the last of his drink before he took a portal into his office space at the Institute.  It was a generous space at the height of the Institute, with especially beautiful views, he had picked himself when he had first started the position. He had been a great many things in his long life, but he had never imagined Shadowhunters attempting to integrate their political structure to allow for inclusivity. They had an admittedly long road to travel, but at least they were trying.

He had thought whatever might have happened would have transpired quickly and he would have been there to help explain everything. However at thirty minutes he was already considering a trip home to the chairman when he saw them coming in at a distance. He made his way down the flights of until he appeared just before the three shadowhunters entered the infirmary carry three other bodies.  When he didn’t see a second auburn haired woman, he knew something unexpected and, he feared, dire had happened. With as much urgent authority as he could muster, if only to avoid questions from the Nephilim, he ordered Gideon to take the werewolf upstairs.

Either they hadn’t wanted Luke or who ever had attacked them had not been smart enough to recognize the simple poison had not done what they had assumed it would on a werewolf. As they were likely desperate off-Grid Circle member he began his work based off of the latter thought. It didn’t take too much magic or energy to clean Luke’s system before he went back to the infirmary to check on the other two and to allow the man to wake up. The teenagers had taken care of the girl just fine, but when it came to her brother he lingered longer than he should over someone who wasn’t injured.  Even with his eyes closed the man was striking. And if they had stayed blue…the warlock’s eyes drifted downward toward a tear in the shirt that gave the smallest tease to the skin beneath.

“Magnus?”

It was his summer-time student Gideon who had pulled him out of his staring.

“Is the werewolf awake?”

There was a nod, “I’m sure we’ll be down shortly, let me know when they wake…and in the mean time you should probably find them both some fresh, clean clothes to wear”

* * *

 

_“I just don’t understand…how does a Shadowhunter appear out of nowhere?”_

 

 Alec blinked the world back into focus, and was met with bright lights of an unfamiliar room. It took a moment before his memories caught up with him. His dad lying on the ground, unmoving, his sister screaming…dragging himself up the stairs. That creature.

 

_“Never mind two of them.”_

_Isabelle Lightwood knew both of her brothers extremely well, but Jace’s instant and rather adamant opposition surprised her. She looked to her eldest brother trying to read his face, but his emotions were fairly even, always the think-then-react type. She hoped he’d decide where he stood on this so they could get Jace to calm down._

 

He could hear them before he could see them, the three who had been in his home.  They were too focused in on whatever it was they were arguing about, to notice him stirring. He was sitting up now, trying to observe more.

 

_“Come on, Izzy, you can’t honestly believe he is anything other than a mundane.”_

_Everyone told her that Jace would even out once he found the Shadowhunter with the matching Parabatai mark, that they would be his balance; like Gideon who was able to pull a little strength from his sealed bond though it was only a portion of what was possible when the other would be physically present. But she knew Jace’s was still fading, she had seen it every day in training and even she had to admit her optimism was getting a little nervous for his approaching eighteenth birthday. She had never been more grateful to not have a Parabatai mark of her own._

 

The walls of the room were patterned between stained glass and screens covered in strange images that made him wonder if he had hit his head and just how hard.  To his other side was an open entry way and stairs, just three, leading out. At the bottom to the side he caught site of the three who had been in the apartment.

 

 _“You saw the rune, she is clearly one of us.”_  

_“Yeah,_ **_she_ ** _is…”_

_These two new people, two new Shadowhunter- she was sure , were exciting. Their days at the Institute so often were boring, and repetitive and her sense of adventure felt hope with this development. She had seen the how Jace looked after talking to the girl, could understand his intrigue with the petite red head. But there was something about the red head’s brother that intrigued her, even felt familiar. She was just as sure this boy was Shadowhunter as Jace was that he wasn’t._

  

There was a sound of slight rustling movement from behind him. Clary. He moved the pillow to the end of his bed, and his legs to the side. With less effort than he expected he was able to lift himself over the bars in between the beds, until he was sitting at the end of her bed.

 

_“And if they are related, then obviously he must be one too…”_

_As they argued, Izzy’s eye were distracted by a movement behind her brother’s. With half of her focus watched as the dark haired boy in the infirmary lifted himself to be closer to his sister. This instinctual protectiveness, that continued as his seemed to look around in a calculative manner, was something she recognized in her own sibling. For Izzy this was proof she was right._

  

He held her hand as he looked around, still no sign of his chair. No chair complicated any means of escape. His free hand hit his pocket, landing on something hard, his phone. So, they might not have been kidnapped by experts. He managed to shoot a couple of texts to Simon, before Clary began to stir.

 

_“This is ridiculous Iz…explain to me how that would have even have happened, and two how would it even work?”_

 

Clary’s fire red hair shooting up into a sitting position seemed to interrupt their argument. Alec held on tight while she started spew questions. “Alec, where are we? Who are they? Why did you kidnap us?” 

There was a scoff from the taller of the two guys who had moved to semi-encircle the bed. “We didn’t kidnap you, you were about to be killed by a demon, we _saved_ you.” The confidence bordered on the arrogant and seemed to grate a little on Alec’s nerves and forced him to focus on his sister.

Clary was close enough to her brother that he noticed something on her neck, and the fact that she was not wearing the shirt Dot had given her, which she had been wearing when they had been celebrating her birthday.

He turned and his eyes met with one of the arrogant one, “And if you want me save your lives you’ll tell me where my sister’s clothes are, and who in their right mind thought it was okay to tattoo her when she was unconscious?” Clary’s eyes went wide as she reached for her neck.

 The guy he was staring at scoffed, “You must be forsaken, mundane,” The word was said with enough venom he understood the intention even if it was an odd thing to be call, “if you are insane enough to believe you could take me.”

 “Jace.” It was the girl, Izzy, who spoke up this time, “It’s not always about you.” She turned toward Alec with a sympathetic smile, “Her clothes were covered in demon venom, they could have seriously burned her. We had to dispose of them.”

 “Let’s say I believe this demon stuff…” Alec’s comment also seemed to amuse the one called Jace. “Care to explain the tattoo.”

 Izzy, who might have sensed he was more likely to believe her than her brothers continued, cutting off Jace and the snide comment he had waiting,  “It’s not a tattoo it’s a rune, they’re used to give Shadowhunters extra abilities or to heal them when there’s an injury, like the demon venom that was in your sister’s blood. They can only be used on Shadowhunters, if used on humans, it would kill them.”

“You’re not making any sense,” Clary spoke up moving away from the whole group around her. “I am human…why…”

With a gentle shake of the head, Izzy continued, “Half-human, half-angel, you’re a Shadowhunter like us. We knew we could use it because you already had one on you.” She moved around to sit on the opposite side of Alec reaching for Clary’s neck line, quietly asking for permission. There was no protest she pulled to reveal the mark below her collarbone.

 “That?” Alec almost wanted to laugh as he brain wanted to decide then and there this was a very elaborate and annoying prank, “That’s just Clary’s birthmark, I have one just like it…” he pulled the neck of his shirt to reveal his own.

The sight of his made the dark haired girl beam with something reminiscent  of triumph,  “Then you’re are _both_ Shadowhunters.” Her voice had that tone that nearly made something inside both Garroway siblings feel like small children who were being corrected by a teacher, “Now that that's settled, I'm going to those clothes for Clary to wear. Jace,  could you grab  something for Alec,” The smile seemed to grow a little, “To wear. Gideon can stay.” 

After Jace and Izzy left the room, Clary kept her eyes locked on her brother as she ignored the other person in the room, “My brain feels it’s about to explode. I don’t understand any of this…I just want to go home.”

“Or wake up.” He wasn’t going to hide that fact he was feeling just has lost from his little sister.

“This will be easier for you, if you just accept this is real. Because this is very real. And I agree with my brother, Jace, that it doesn’t make sense for either of you to be here, to be one of us, but you are here. This is your new reality.”

Both occupants of the small, low to the floor metal framed bed slowly looked to the person they had consciously ignored as he stared at them. There was something about his eyes that fascinated Clary, and made Alec uneasy as he approached to stand over both of them. He looked rather stern despite some of the softer lines of his face.

“Accept what?” Alec felt daring matching eyes. It was then that he notice the black specs, almost chunks that interrupted the eye color. It was a little disconcerting to see that pattern in an human eye, still he kept his eye contact, “That we’ve been  kidnapped.”

There was a flash of anger that left his face and went straight to his voice, “For the last time,  you’re not kidnapped; we are not holding you hostage. And if you really want to take that risk you can leave. It would probably save me and my siblings a lot of hassle and headaches.”

Clary’s voice matched his, an anger Alec hadn’t seen before, “If we are so free to leave then where is my brother’s chair?”

“Well, I’m sorry if we were more concerned with saving your life. There was no guarantee whatever sent that demon wasn’t going to send another, or come themselves to make sure the job was done.”

The anger deflated fast, “Wait, you think that happened on purpose? Where’s our parents? If they go home…”

She was interrupted, “Your dad is upstairs being healed by the High Warlock of Brooklyn. I am sure he’s fine.” There was a pause as he seemed to tone down his own voice, “We didn’t find anyone else, just you three.”

 

* * *

 

“I guess if you’re back in the picture, things are looking a little grim.” Luke eyed the once-briefly-familiar warlock with a sense of resignation.

“I’m not exactly sure what is happening myself, but I think you may be right.” The warlock sat in the rather elaborate leather office chair, leaning back as to give the werewolf permission to explain.

There was a heavy sigh, “I honestly think that if she could have Jocelyn would she would have kept both Alec and Clary’s Sight blocked, she thought it would protect them. We both did especially when they were younger. We were happy hiding in the mundane world. We both know how they both would have been looked down upon; a child who couldn't walk, and the child of the man who nearly tore our world apart.  They were happy in a world that didn't care about either fact. But as we got closer to Clary’s birthday, she was drawing runes without knowing what they meant; Alec was showing signs in his arm strength and reflexes…We were going to tell them…”

“But you didn’t.”

Luke shook his head. “It was stupid.”

“That’s a bit of an understatement.” The warlock’s look seemed to dare the werewolf to contradict him.

"Alec had left for a date. Clary's friend Simon had picked her up. Instead of making them stay Jocelyn had decided  the would give them one last night of freedom. Then glass shattered. There were three of them out of no where. I have no idea how they found us or how they got in. We stuck to the emergency plan, I distracted them while she went to the kids' room torching evidence, getting her seraph blade.  But then I got unnumbered and one of them hit me with something...I couldn't fight anymore. I black out as they were dragging her away. I don't know what happened between that and waking up here."

"A demon."

 "A demon?"

 "Apparently they sent a demon to make sure you were dead...or for Alexander and Clary. The demon attacked when they arrived…" Luke jerked up, but Magnus waved a quick hand as he continued, "It's fine they managed to hold it off until they were rescued…"

 "By who?"

 "The Lightwood siblings."

 The man on the bed let his head fall back a little, there was a part of him that wasn't surprised. "Well, I guess its all going to come out now, just not how we wanted. Where are they now?"

 "Downstairs in the infirmary, Clary got a scratch from the deal which was healed, and Alexander passed out from the stress but he's fine."

 Luke nodded firmly, "I need to see them."

 

* * *

 Luke could hear Clary before he saw them as he approached the infirmary rather stiffly. The werewolf in him healed fast, but that never made it pleasant or easy. But the soreness was something he would have to endure, he had more important things to take care of, like his family. If the situation had been so dire, if he wasn't fearing for the sake of his family and the life of his wife, there may have been a little bit of him that would have pointed out Jocelyn had gotten out of the conversation she had been dreading. It is was all up to him to tell his kids the truth about themselves and to rescue Jocelyn before the full extent of what eighteen years of plotting a revenge could entail.

“Your mom was taken. But I swear I’m going to find her.” 

The deep familiar voice made both Alec and Clarly look relieved as they turned to see the man who had given them his last name. clary shot out of the bed and nearly leapt to throw her arms around his neck, whispering, ‘you’re safe’ over and over again.

He wrapped his arms around, “I’m fine and I swear you’re mother will be, too.”

“Who would do this? Why mom? Dad, what’s going on?’

“Hey, hey, hey.” He tried to force a chuckle, but wasn’t sure it came through genuinely, “We’ll get there. I promise.  But let’s take care of some other things first.” He gestured downward, and she became suddenly aware that the oversized shirt was just barely passing as covering enough to make her just shy of uncomfortable.

* * *

 

Just in case his best friends running out of club hadn't worried him, Alec's text had pretty much declared his  level of worried to a def-con two. It wasn't as though he had never gotten an odd text or two from his friend and band mate, but ' **Left wheelchair at our apt. Get it. BE CAREFUL.Find us. FAST.** ' Certainly landed up toward the top of the list, enough to move fourteen year old Alec's  **'I think I like you'** and subsequent **'If my sister ever does let you kiss her you'll have to tell me who is the better kisser'** down the leader board.

 The text however didn't even come close to how he felt seeing their ground level door off its hinge. He carefully entered steeping around the broken things. Immediately he saw the wheelchair up against the stairs. 

His steps toward it faltered when he movement from above him.

"Did you hear that?"

It wasn't a voice he recognized so he hid in closest spit he could find, forcing himself in a closet among boxes that had been ignored for a least a year.

_Since when did his breathing get so loud?_

“A wheelchair?”

“Yes, the boy uses it.”

“Valentine’s son? Crippled, Impossible.”

His anger at the word they used to describe one of his best friend was nearly enough to throw himself out of the closet but his fear kept him check and distracted by other irrational fear induced response thoughts.

_Valentine? People name there kid Valentine? Not the thing to be concerned about right now._

The conversation continued for a few moment before he heard the clunky noise of the front door. Still he waited a while not only for his breathing to return to normal, but to make sure they weren’t coming back. After a couple minutes of self-motivation he finally emerged and began to work on why he been in the first place.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot right?! And there's more! Lots of response and it will be updated tomorrow.
> 
> I've resigned myself that Seb/Jon/Gideon is just going to be OOC but to my defense his upringing and some other things to be revealed later will have changed him anyhow.
> 
> Nothing to reveal here, let me know if you have any questions.  
> Thanks for reading and let me know what you think.
> 
> Also I have a couple of fics being written at the same time that I haven't posted yet. Which would you want to see next:  
> -Soulmate Universe, featuring Alec who is deaf. Human universe.  
> -Shadoworld deaf Magnus and musician Alec  
> -Shadowhunter deaf Alec.


	4. Wake to a New World, Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 of Chapter 3. Parabatais revealed. Simon arrives on the scene. Magnus and Alec get a few minutes with each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here it is, the second half of chapter 3. I love it because I think its a massive dose of awkward tension which I feel is appropriate after last nights episode.
> 
> I hope you enjoy.

Jace felt no desire to rush getting clothes for anyone sake, but particularly for that mundane.  He was sure there was some reasonable explanation that the boy had that rune on him, though try as hard as might he couldn’t come with any.

 _He’s a Shadowhunter._ He could hear his sister’s voice in head. He shook his as if the thought would fall out.

He didn’t know why exactly why it bothered him. Maybe it just confused him. He was just a sure there was something off about the boy as he was fascinated by the young woman with the bright hair. She was witty, had challenged him without any second thought.

He sighed. They’d would figure out both of them. He tossed a few shirts to the side without any interest as to if they would fit the boy or not. However he caught sight of the tear in his own shirt as he passed the mirror. He pulled of the  ruined article of clothing as Isabelle popped her head in open door.

“Jace,  find anything…Maybe we should…” She stopped  mid thought and he watched with growing confusion as her eyes grew wide. “Jace, turn around.”

“What?”

“Just do it.” 

He did as he was told and face her direction.

“Now, turn your head so you can see your back.”

 This was ridic—it took a half a long moment to comprehend what he was able to see what had caused her reaction. He, in fact, they all had, had gotten so used to the mark on his back just under his right shoulder blade slowly fading in the last months as approached his eighteenth birthday.  But now…now it was almost as if someone had painted fresh black ink over the mark, almost shining.  The Parabatai rune stood prominently surrounded by four smaller symbols two representing him and the other two  were for his Parabatai. And his match would have a matching mark.

His Parabatai. He had met them. He racked his head for anyone new in the Institute, retraced his steps, the only thought crossed his head led confusion to cross his face.

Isabelle who had also been staring at Jace's back had seemed to have clued into what Jace was thinking. 

"No, Jace. Its not her." 

"How do you know?" 

She gave him a look that clearly stated the level in which his sister had judged him with, "Beside the likelihood of male/female Parabatai matches being very rare. I was the one who changed her out of her demon soaked clothes, and she does have one, but it doesn't match yours." Clary's was unique enough to have stuck her mind and she had seen Jace's enough of during training to feel confident.

 "Then, who else?" 

She gave him that pointed look again.

 He just shook his head as turned around and grabbed at shirts.

 "No."

 

* * *

 

Gideon wasn’t surprised to see his sister had returned first, as she moved directly Clary to pull her up and behind the partition. The two had mustered a reluctant sense of ease with each other quickly, but that was also another thing that did not shock Gideon. His sister had always had a talent of making others feel comfortable around her. It had proven quite the asset over the years; from making  Jace feel like part of the family when their parents had brought him home to helping their fellow Shadowhunters and Downworlders feel at ease around each other in the Institute.

On the other hand, Jace’s talent had alawys been more in himself and his abilities as a soldier, a protector and he was aware of exactly how good he was. His own awareness of his attributes also made him less skilled socially, often as in their current situation, made him come off as abrasive. Gideon would always be the first to defend his brother,  Jace meant well, it just took a while to understand _what_ he meant.

As for Gideon, it was more an observed and report kind. He had to be, otherwise the part of him that made him different from every other Shadowhunter became too much of a risk, and all the training and magic spent would be a waste. So while Isabelle was taking everything in stride, and Jace instantly put up walls of caution, Gideon just watched and observed. The way the Magnus was reacting to the werewolf…there was history they knew each other. And despite being referred to as ‘Dad’ the science of genetics told the Shadowhunter that it was very unlikely that he had actually fathered either Clary or Alec, in fact they didn’t look all that similar, then again neither did he or Izzy. His instinct told him that there was a lot more to this story then what they knew at this point.

He was pulled out of his thoughts and observations by the sound of a cell phone.

 

* * *

 

An abandoned church; Simon didn’t know if this development should surprise him, terrify him, or…considering how the rest of the night had played out…if he should consider this absolutely on par.

The application on his phone told him that Alec's phone was in an abandoned church. He swiped away the app and punched in the shortcut to Alec’s number. What the accounting student desperately wanted was for someone to pop out  and tell him this had all been a prank to see how far he was willing to push an empty wheelchair.

He had barely gotten out the words "Alec, I'm in front of this creepy church..." when he felt someone knock the phone out of his hand and then there something at his throat. Quickly he tried to budge, to process the last few seconds but all he could hear in head was: _not what I meant. Not what I meant!_

“Let go of me.” He tried to shout but he felt a sudden sharpness that stopped him.

“But you’ll make the perfect bargaining chip.”

“What…”

“Stop moving.” The voice whispered harshly. “We should thank you, though, for leading us straight to them.”

The gravelly voice in his ear stopped talking and moving all together as the door of the building opened and Simon could see both Clary and Luke watching with intensity. Clary suddenly pushed her head into her dad’s, but her best friend couldn’t tell why as he was simultaneously pushed to the ground. The man was fighting something in the air. Simon scrambled back, reached for the wheelchair as if would defend him from whatever it was that was happening as he backed towards the building.

He stared in some weird fascination as they who had just threatened to slit his neck was now swinging around in some weird dance with the air. Then suddenly that man just froze in mid-air.

“Clary? Luke? What….” He took a deep breath as though that would stop his nerves, “The hell?”

* * *

 

The sounds on the other end of his phone had spurred everyone else into the room into action except for Alec, and Magnus who didn’t feel the same compulsion to come to the mundane’s aid.

Alec eyed the man carefully, “Shouldn’t you also be running off to where ever?”

“And leave you all alone?” The warlock smiled wildly as he gracefully took a seat beside Alec where Clary’s head had once lain. “That would be rather rude, wouldn’t it?”

“I…I..I” Alec couldn’t help but feel the color rise in his cheeks. “..Guess. So…you’re the,um,” He tried to recall what the man had been referred to, “High…uh…”

“Warlock of Brooklyn….but you can just call me Magnus, Alexander.”

“Um, it’s Alec…” Alec tried to use his hands to push up and shift his position on the bed. His brain tried to scramble for something intelligent to say. It was a rather unfamiliar feeling

“Forgive me, but I must say those eyes of yours are rather more suited for an ‘Alexander’”

Alec’s thoughts were spared by a shirtless Jace walking into the room mouth opened as if he was going to shout. Instead he looked around, “Where is everyone?”  
  
Magnus waved his hand flippantly, “Off saving a mundane.” The warlock turned to get a better view of the shirtless Shadowhunter, “I’m sure they have it taken care of; the better question may be, not that I’m complaining, why are you shirtless?”

Alec didn’t miss the bewildered look on the blonde’s face as he tried to shift his focus on whatever had been on his mind to what Magnus had just asked. Then with a decided shook his head to stand in front of Alec.

“Here.”

Alec looked at the shirt extended toward him. “Thanks.”  
  
“Alright…we’ll give you a moment to change.”  
  
“No.” Jace’s voice was firm.

“Well as much as I loved a shirt free environment, I do also believe in some level the etiquette of consent.” This seemed rather unlike the Jace Magnus had more or less watched grow up in the walls of the Institue, but the boy’s confidence and frustrations had been known to occasionally  been linked.

“Please.” Jace’s voice was still terse.

The seated young man eyed the other, carefully focusing on his face and not toward the rather muscled chest. If he was being honest Alec’s first instint was the other was a rather significant jerk. The impulsive distrust had slightly given way to realize Jace was being cautious. So, he reached out and took the shirt,

“It’s fine. I’m not self-conscious.”

Jace moved to stand behind him as he pulled of the dirty shirt he had woken up in. As the fabric uncovered his back he was acutely aware of the eyes on him. _Well,_ he thought, _it wasn’t as if this night could get weirder._

He looked over to see a rather impressed look on the warlock’s face as he heard the ‘Damn it’ from behind him.

* * *

 

“Who was that?”  


Simon watched with wide eyes as one of his best friends addressed the air.

“Clary, what is this? Where are we? Who are you talking to?”

The air almost seemed to be charged with a quick spurt of electricity as two people appeared in front of him.

“How…what…” Simon was sputtering.

The raven haired girl smiled at his display while Luke intercepted what was about to be said. “Let’s continue this conversation on the inside so we don’t have any other surprises right now.”

The consensus seemed to be in agreement, and Simon was further stunned into silence as the cob webbed decaying walls of the church transformed into what appeared to be a high tech modern lab. Simon looked around at the others, and his eyes lingered on the blonde who was just ahead of him. The  lower back of his shirt had been torn, most likely from Simon’s would-have-been-kidnapper.

“Your shirt.”

The girl’s eyes darted to her brother’s shirt, “Gid, are you okay?”

Her hand flew to his side and tugged to lift it up. Her breath caught as she saw his Parabatai mark peeking out and recognizing it as the same one she had spotted on Clary’s skin.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I also still have nearly 4,000 words I cut from the whole of chapter 3. Hopefully they'll fit else where or they might become a series of 'deleted scene' one offs.
> 
> What I can reveal:  
> to answer a question I got in reviews...the cup is fine its not hidden. Jocelyn is just a target because she was instrumental in the death of Valentine which will be revealed in more detail later
> 
> Coming soon (over the course of the next 3 chapters):  
> -Luke explains what the hell is going on   
> -the Parabatai discovery fall out  
> -Robert and Maryse show up  
> -A flashback  
> -Magnus distracts Alec from all this stuff with a first date-ish  
> -Clary confronts Jace about being a jerk,
> 
> Two last things.  
> -DeafShadowhunter Alec fic will be up with in the next week by popular, most likely next monday...In the mean time I'm also posting a single dad Alec who pulls a Jocelyn fic today. Check it out if you are curious.  
> -Does anybody know of have solid educated guesses as to what is happening in the promo with Alec/Jace writhing in pain and screaming each others name? 
> 
> Finally, Thanks for reading. And please let me know what you are thinking!


	5. The Ignition Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke and Magnus explain it all. Or most of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is true in the past I’ve had some issues updating other stories, its why I took a long break from fanfiction before returning with this story. This show has really been a thought-sparker, so…of course when I’m in groove, real life likes to remind me it exists. My grandmothers both had health crisis within hours of each other, they live in different city and neither live in the city as me. To top it off there was a holiday (Purim) for which I had obligations, as well as a couple other things so I had to temporarily back burner writing. But I am back and I appreciate your patience. 
> 
> This chapter is shorter than I would have preferred but I wanted to get something up, so this is what I had before I had to focus on other things. I mostly didn't finish the portion of parabatai explanation and a bookend flashback featuring Gideon, Izzy, and Jace about Jace's first day and how two Jonathans became Jace and Gideon. Hopefully, now that life has calmed down I will get that up by the end of the week. Also as a thank you and an apology for the huge game I’m also posting a deleted scene from the last chapter I had to chop a bit, its Simon, Alec, and Clary first ‘playdate’ so to speak.

_Luke walked up the stairs with a slight sense of concern as to what he might be walking into as he heard the shouting carrying across the entire building. He looked to where Dot was maintaining her position behind the counter, but she only shrugged her shoulders with a sympathetic smile._

_"Alec, I am your mother...you don’t ever speak to me like that." The police officer recognized the tone in his wife voice as stern, but exasperated which made him wonder how long this argument had been going on before he arrived._

_"Mom!" Clary was chiming in._

_"Clary...this isn't your fight…" Alec's voice was clearly angry about something as it got louder along with the sound of wheels against the wooden floors. As Luke arrived at the the top of the stairs he could see the thirteen year old roll directly for the elevator, Jocelyn just far enough behind him that he managed to get the door pulled down in time._

_"Alexander. Christopher. Garroway." She turned to head towards the stairs, but spotted her husband. Her shoulders collapsed as she approached…_

_"He got in a fight today during archery club…I'm just worried...he's been so angry lately…"  
  
Luke nodded, understanding as he shared her concern, "Let me go talk to him."  
_    
_It was a long moment before he got the nod of approval and turned to go back down the stairs. He paused to let the boy get a good slam of the downstairs door before he finished the last step and followed outside._

_Alec hadn't made it far, stopping just before the turn that led to the street._

_"Come on,  let's go...you need to spin this out."_

_They pair went along in silence for a block or two before Luke felt like it was safe enough to breach the topic. "You're not usually the fighting, angry, secret keeping type…"_

_"Maybe I'm starting to learn from you and mom…"_  

_Luke stopped in his tracks and with a quick grab stopped Alec's chair from moving any further, "What's that supposed to mean?"_

_"It means I'm thirteen not stupid, Dad! I hear you two talking at night….Who is Jonathan? If Clary looks like mom, do I look like our birth dad? Where did we live before this? Why do you guys never answers the questions?!"_

_He took a deep breath, and took over pushing the wheelchair in silence. He didn't know if it was to prevent Alec from taking off again, because they needed to get away from the people filling the sidewalk, or because he was buying himself a little time to come up with answers; he tried to convince himself it was probably more so the latter. As they approached a thinly populated space of sidewalk he pulled his son over and stepped in front. With some amount of control he lowered himself down until they had reached eye level._

_"You're right: you are not stupid...but you are thirteen." Alec's face began to twist but Luke carried on regardless, "You're starting to figure out who you are and what you really want to do when you grow up, you're becoming an adult and you're becoming aware of the world around you. There's a lot you're going to learn….but you're mom and I don't want you become an adult too fast, you still have a lot of things to enjoy too, okay? One day, you will get all the answers, you just have to trust us know when that can happen, okay?"_

_It took a while of Alec's eye locked on his before he got a slow nod. There was a sense of relief that they answer, though not the best he could have given seemed to work. He and Jocelyn would have to be more careful if they wanted to avoid having the conversation sooner than they were ready. Maybe it was selfish of them but he really loved this version of reality; where he could spend time away from the pack as a normal human, with a life, where he could forget about the past._

_"So, tell me about this fight?" Lucas changed the subject abruptly and laughing as Alec groaned._

 

* * *

 

 

Reunited with his chair Alec was happy to roll away from Jace who still seemed to be extremely focused on whatever he had seen, thought he saw on Alec's back.  He followed Luke with Clary and Simon to the elevator and to the upstairs. This place as whole had so far been an odd, yet bright clash of modern technology and classic architecture. However, the room they had just entered had a much different feeling then the rest of the building, but the details were lost on Alec as he carefully watched his dad head to the opposite side of the room to stare out the window.

His sister's eyes darted between the men in the room. Her dad was focused outward, her brother was focused on their dad, and only Simon looked elsewhere.  Her childhood friend was sending her what she was sure he meant to be reassuring smile but only came off as standard Simon-goofy. It was still comforting, something that in this midst of this night was still the same.

The quiet filled the room for a long while as if no one was quiet ready to tempt the task of breaking it.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Silence seemed to be the theme for the evening as it also hung thickly in the infirmary where Isabelle, her brothers, and Magnus were trying to process their side of the information. Jace stared in the direction the others had walked, shaking his head. He started walking, determined to find his answers, but he was stopped by a hand wrapped around his arm.

He suspected to find the hand belonged to his older brother, however Gideon was focused on the floor under  where he was sitting on a bed next to Izzy. It was the warlock who had stopped him and he pulls away fairly quickly at that realization going to join his siblings.

“I don’t understand how  _he_ could be…”

“I don’t understand why your so upset.” Magnus muttered in a faux quiet, cleary not concerned with who did or did not hear.

Izzy just shook her head, “I just don’t understand any of this…how do…why they hide in the Mundane world when they are Shadowhunters?”

The quiet tempted again but once again the warlock spoke up, “Maybe if you remembered what it was like back then…”

 

* * *

  
 

“ The Shadowworld has never been quiet as progressive as the mundane…the human world.” Luke’s voice carefully broke into the room, but he stayed focused  on the window. “There was always been a strictly enforced hierarchy, a segregation between the Shadowhunters…those half human, half angel defenders of the humans and the Downworlders..”

Simon began to speak  up, “Down…”

“Vampires, fairies, werewolves. Warlocks….”

Luke finally looked at the three young adults to find varied responses. Simon looked like he was in a dream; an exciting, but slightly terrifying dream. He had seen that look on Clary’s face enough to know she was on information overload. Finally he looked at Alec who’s face was staring straight faced back at him, as if he was accepting anything so nothing could shock him.

“Anyhow after centuries….tensions were rising… around the time Alec was born things had started coming to a breaking point. A Shadowhunter named Valentine Morgenstern became the voice against the Clave, the governing body of Shadowhunters….he argued against the Clave,  and convinced a lot of people that there could and should be change…his Parabatai included…”

“Parabooty? That’s the word that Jace guy kept calling Alec?” Simon piped up, Luke passingly thought he was probably the only once processing things at a functional level to interact, his self-proclaimed nerdy tendencies might actually be working in his favor, for once.

"Paraba ** _tai_**.” The older man corrected, “Shadowhunters have a lot of runes, but there’s a couple marks that we still don’t fully understand, and one of them is the Parabatai mark. It doesn’t happen to everyone but when it appears from birth….

“But ours…” Alec started….

His dad just shook his head, “We’ll get to that in a moment...you still need to understand who we thought Valentine was...”

 "We?"

"Jocelyn had married him young, enamored with his ideas for a better world...stood by his side, like I did when he started converting others to our cause. We were the start of what Valentine began to 'The Circle'..."

 

* * *

 

 

“So the werewolf was not only a Shadowhunter, but Valentine’s Parabatai? That man helped one of the most rogue Shadowhunters….”

Magnus was already cutting Gideon off, “Luke saw the truth before anyone else. He and Jocelyn realized that he was trying to weaken the Clave only to take over and control the Shadowworld…and clearly not in a good way. True, we  know the Clave was wrong in a lot of what it was doing, but what Valentine wanted was worse. His secret master plan was to steal the Mortal Cup… and along the way he orchestrated so many deaths disguising them as the Clave or as Downworlder revenge kills.”

Magnus shudders silently at the memories he’s rarely pulled forward. The three Shadowhunter siblings waited for him to continue, they were used Magnus’ usually vibrant personality. His eccentricities were something they had come to accept growing up in the New York Institute, learning from him, working with him. But this seriousness on the warlock was something they had not experienced before.

Izzy seemed the most intent to understand and was using the time to think for a moment. “How did Luke become a werewolf?” She asked, afraid she might have already have guessed the answer.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“He had apparently figured out Jocelyn and I had discovered the truth…and he decided the pain of destroying the bond was worth it for his plan.  Even if we hadn’t figured it out I don’t think he would have let me live for too long anyhow. He was getting paranoid as Jocelyn and I  spent more time…” He shrugged a little as if in response to a fleeting thought in his own head, “He was getting paranoid about everything.  I knew something was wrong, but I guess I hoped…

“He told me there was a werewolf…rogue, who needed help the next thing I knew I was locked in a barn…and…Jocelyn  stood by me the whole time. We knew then we had no choice.”

Luke had gone back to staring out the window, at the sun that was starting to creep on the edge of the horizon. He had been a Shadowhunter, had survived Valentine, and was now entirely afraid of what the children he raised would think of them, sure they were slowly putting together the pieces.

Alec who had been quiet interrupted his dad's silence, "You said this was about the time I was born...”

“You were safe…hidden with a family friend.” As far as he knew it had been the truth. He knew the full truth was going to come out especially now that Alec was inside of the New York Institute. Still, he wanted Alec to have something to hold on, even if only for a little while, while he processed the new world that had emerged around him. “Who a Shadowhunter was, who that had to be had strict rules, and when you were born, there were a lot of people who didn’t believe you fit. Unfortunately, you will still find people who believe that.”

Alec nodded slowly, looking to the floor, his nod meant for himself as he seemed to relapse into his quiet state of processing.

“And me? When did Mom find out? Did Valentine?”

Luke looked to at Clary, met her eyes with a long stare, “Jocelyn never told him, but I suspect he may have known.  After he believed he killed me Val kept her extremely close…”

“So how was he stopped?” Simon’s enthusiasm had settled down, turning into a sympathetic support he was trying to lace with an appropriate level of concern to hide the millions of questions that popped in his head as Luke continued.

* * *

 

“Valentine believed the attack had killed Luke, but Luke had survived. He was just different, now a Downworlder. It proved to be Morgenstern's downfall. Luke could now move around and garnered alliances he would never have managed as a Shadowhunter. Jocelyn Fairchild kept cautiously plotting from the inside of the circle.

“The victory came when Valentine led his followers to steal the Mortal Cup...he had not suspected that instead of the Cup, he would find a small army of Downworlders who now knew he never had any intention on a united world. They attacked...a number of members of the Circle ran, few of those who stayed survived the battle that followed."

Gideon was now uncharacteristically pacing between two of the infirmary beds, before he slowed, "Who killed Valentine?"

"Jocelyn did. She was probably the only one who could have and she had more right than anyone else there...including Luke." Magnus spoke those words carefully catching Jace's opening mouth with his last two words.

He had miss guessed the boy's question, "Were you there?"

The warlock took a long time with the question. It seemed, from intent he was being starred at a rather important question.  These three had been raised and trained to look at every attack and every possible solution from all its angles. Magnus had refused to speak of this era with a lot of detail for many reasons to those of the New York Institute. "How do you think I got this position?"   
It was all he would say to the question.

* * *

 

"After Valentine's death...the Clave, severely exposed and weakened by The Circle over the years tried to reclaim control through their old tactics. There executions and punishments, not all of which met the crimes.  They held no regard that the overwhelming majority of the member, especially those who had ran from the last battle, had no idea of the extent of Valentine's crimes.

"They wanted to make examples of Jocelyn and I, despite calls from Shadowhunters for a pardon as we had stopped him. The Clave was stubborn, and refused to adjust any of it rules...more fights broke out. Leaving was the only option. Through some contacts we were able to secure some finances and alias' for us and you so that we could all escape to the mundane world. We didn't think we would ever be able to come back, and we feared some of the Circle members who might survive the Clave's wrath. We really thought it would be safer to hide you from the Shadowworld. With the help of a warlock we gave you both blocking runes." He moved his hand to his own collarbone, silently referencing what he was talking about. "To protect you. The rune would block the traits and memories, even the Parabatai marks you both had, but more importantly would disguise you."

"But you and Mom..."

"As adults we had some options that wouldn't have worked for you...and the rune allowed for us to stay together as a family."

* * *

 

 

"You know the rest." Magnus finished, "The Clave was thrown out of power...and there was a lot of...restructuring. But no solution can please everyone.  Valentine had still been killed, Jocelyn and Luke had escaped, and there were members of Circle who were still angry. They pretended to assimilate to the changing world, but every once in a while a sleeper cell will make an appearance..."

"Like my parents?" Jace asked, connecting the dots.

Magnus nodded.

Izzy placed a supportive hand on her brother's shoulder. "Why now?"

"Clary is eighteen. The blocking rune has lost its power and I suspect her appearance at the club may have been spotted..."

 

* * *

 

 

"So if I wouldn't have followed Jace into the club..."

Luke cut her head off with a fervent head shake. He filing moved away from the window and moved closer to the trio who had been his patient audience, "Something else would have happened. There are a lot of points throughout the years, and a lot of decisions that have led us here. The only thing we can do right now is move forward. We will find Mom and we will get trough this..."

The werewolf turned to Simon, "Simon, you have been, in mine and Jocelyn's eyes a member of this family since we've met you, but this isn't your world or your fight..."

The young man interrupted,  "You're a werewolf, these two" His thumbs gesture roughly toward Alec and Clary, "Are half-angel. And downstairs there's a warlock. And there's a bunch of angry bigots who want revenge. I'm not going anywhere." He ended with a wide grin, that was slightly forced despite his genuine intentions. Internally, he squashed the little voice of terror who wanted to run, because if this was really how the world was he was probably going to be safest under the protection of a werewolf and two half-angels.  _Right?_ He asking as he convinced himself.  _Of course right._

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know a lot of technical right? Its sort of my favorite challenge to write things that characters need to learn but the audience already knows all the details. I hope I did it justice, this really played in my brain like the tv show does. Although I have not read the books, its probably best to assume any above infromation that is non canonically correct is most likely due to it needing to fit within the context of this story's world.
> 
> I’ve also decided I probably should look for a beta, someone who not only knows the world tv and books, but can read for clarity and who would be willing to help me talk out ideas when I struggle with decisions. The outline and some the drafts for future chapters  for this story are starting to look too much like a choose-your-own-adventure-book
> 
> Also I’ve posted this on fanfitcition.net under my penname: countrybutterfly.  Always I would love to hear thoughts, questions, and suggestions.
> 
> You may have noticed somethings didn’t get covered above, there’s a small percent that its because I didn’t get to that portion yet and it will be in the next chapter, and that was intentionally left out by the characters and that info and those reason will be covered later on. 
> 
> Coming Soon: what was supposed to be the rest of this chapter, everything else I promised at the end of the last chapter plus we get to see how Hodge fits in to the story. You guys will love it: and by love it I may or may not mean you will hate me for a little a while but in the end you will ultimately love it. Or at least that is the goal.
> 
>    
> Thank you again for your patience and thank you for reading.

**Author's Note:**

> I hoped you liked it and will tell me what you think. Any question on how this world will vary let me know and I will confirm details as I go.
> 
> The only solid confirmations I will give right now are:  
> Valentine still betrayed Luke and locked him in with werewolves.  
> valentine is dead. D. E. A. D. Any appearances he make will be in flashbacks or dreams.


End file.
